The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners heard on Tuesday, March 27 how the county’s Animal Services division has made gains in saving more cats and dogs -- and is committed to building on those gains in the year ahead.
At at a board briefing, division Director Mike Oswald told commissioners that live release rates for dogs since 2007 have climbed from 69.5 percent to 86.5 percent.
For cats, llive release rates since 2007 have jumped from 36.1 percent to 54.5 percent.
“We’re pleased with the progress that is going on,’’ Oswald said.
The goals, he said, in Animal Services’ strategic plan are to increase the live release rates for cats in the upcoming fiscal year to 60 percent and to sustain the existing high live release rates for dogs.
Commissioners also heard how nearly 9,000 cats and dogs arrive each year at the shelter, an open-door facility that is unique in the region because it accepts all stray, abandoned, neglected or abused animals as well as animals surrendered by their owners.
Oswald ascribed many of the gains that have been achieved so far in improving outcomes for those thousands of cats and dogs to a strong volunteer base and the animal shelter’s many community partners. The strategic plan incorporates multilple initiatives to continue building on those community partnerships.
The briefing highlighted more than a dozen separate programs with the shelter’s community partners in the areas of adoption, fostering, spay and neuter services, licensing and volunteering.
Among the positive results so far from those partnerships, Oswald said, is a more than doubling of the licensing rate since 2007 from 39,278 for cats and dogs combined, to 91,542 most recently.
The goal going forward? To increase that number to 100,000 licenses, the fees of which go to support all the shelter’s important work for public safety and animal welfare.
Other highlights from the briefing included increased traffic for Animal Services’ website; the display of a prominent billboard in the community and an adoption outreach van--both thanks to generous donations from partner organizations; and the shelter’s veterinary medical hospital recently earning top re-accreditation.
“There are some really good things happening at Animal Services,’’ Oswald said.
County Commissioner Diane McKeel agreed with that assessment, and praised Animal Services’ strategic plan for continued success.
Said McKeel: “I think it’s very well done.”